Rohrabacher Confirms Assange Pardon Offer
Rohrabacher revealed details about an alleged deal between Julian Assange and the President (Flickr).
Former Rep Dana Rohrabacher revealed to Yahoo News that in a 2017 meeting at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, he told Wikileaks founder Julian Assange that he could get him a presidential pardon. In return for this, Assange would have to provide evidence proving Russia was not involved in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2016.
Assange was arrested on April 11, 2019, when the Ecuadorian embassy ended its asylum deal with him. Following this, the United States unsealed an indictment against Assange for computer intrusion and later released additional charges against Assange, including the violation of the Espionage Act. Assange is currently serving a 50-week sentence in a prison in London for bail violations, according to The Guardian.
“I spoke to Julian Assange and told him if he would provide evidence about who gave WikiLeaks the emails, I would petition the president to give him a pardon,” Rohrabacher said to Yahoo News. “He knew I could get to the president.”
Rohrabacher also admitted to pushing for evidence of the Seth Rich conspiracy theory during this meeting, according to The Hill. He further said that after his meeting with Assange, he contacted then-White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. Rohrabacher said that Kelly was “courteous” with Rohrabacher and “knew this had to be handled with care.” However, Kelly never contacted Rohrabacher again. Furthermore, Rohrabacher never spoke with President Trump directly concerning this ordeal, as The Daily Beast reported.
Rohrabacher’s statements come just one day after Assange’s lawyers claimed at a pre-extradition hearing that Rohrabacher offered the pardon deal as a direct order from Trump, according to CNBC. They used this as evidence suggesting that Assange’s indictment in the United States was politically motivated. Assange’s legal team is currently preparing for his extradition hearing, which begins on February 24 and will determine whether the United Kingdom chooses to extradite Assange to the United States, as Reuters reported.
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham spoke on the claims made by Assange’s lawyers, saying in an interview with Yahoo News, “The President barely knows Dana Rohrabacher other than he’s an ex-congressman. He’s never spoken to him on this subject or almost any subject. It is a complete fabrication and a total lie. This is probably another never ending hoax and total lie from the DNC.”
Rohrabacher’s admission of offering a potential pardon will likely play a significant role in Assange’s extradition trial. However, the key issue is whether President Trump was directly involved in Rohrabacher’s efforts. While Rohrabacher denies this, Assange’s lawyers will be eager to prove it once his trial begins.